I ask how life is after the heart
transplant surgery. “It’s just
a pump,” he says, “don’t look
for magic beans. I mean, look,
I’m grateful, but the heart
is not really where love lies, it just
moves the blood. How is it just
that a girl died because she didn’t look
both ways? No, it’s a pump.” But now her heart —
any heart — just looks wrong on a valentine.
[ Tritina ]
Andrew Periale is the poet Laureate of Rochester, NH (USA). He is editor of Puppetry International Magazine, and has worked for 30 years as an actor, puppeteer and playwright. Active in the local poetry scene, he lives in the woods with his wife and two highly critical cats. More at http://www.perryalley.com/.
